Facilitate [fuh-sil-i-teyt]
verb: make (an action or process) easy or easier
As learning and development facilitators our title is much misunderstood. Our job is not that of leader or teacher, instead our role is one of neutrality, understanding and openness. In simple terms, we are there to make things easier and to make sure that everyone involved feels comfortable entering into honest and productive discussion. We are the oil to the engine, added to ensure that the meeting, discussion or event runs nice and smoothly.
So, today we thought we would share our top tips for getting 100% engagement and learning from participants. Of course, there’s no one size fits all approach and we’d love to hear your facilitation thoughts, tips and experiences too.
10 Steps to Fruitful Facilitation
1. Focus on them
You are there to make things easier you are not the shining star.
Stay neutral and never dominate. Your role is one of support, encouragement and acceptance. The best facilitators sit quietly in the wings, gently guiding groups through discussions and easing them towards their goals. This means no judgement or protection on your part
2. Tailor your style to accommodate diversity
There’s no one-size fits all approach
Take the time to understand your participants. Discover why they are here, understand their job roles, their objectives, learning styles and priorities and then tailor your activities, communications and interactions to suit. The ability to accommodate and adapt to multiple styles is a tricky skill and using the DiSC styles to inform your programme design is hugely beneficial here.
3. Support people through blockages
This is all about guidance not handing out the answers
Gently replay what you see happening, delicately intervene and offer choices to guide people through any frustration, conflict, confusion or uncertainty they are experiencing. Groups and individuals need to come to their own conclusions and you are simply there to make this easier, you are the arm around the shoulder that guides them towards resolution.
4. Have a plan but be flexible
Know your objectives but be prepared to let your journey take you off-piste
Keeping things on track and achieving desired outcomes means knowing where you want to get to and revisiting this throughout the session. This doesn’t mean being a slave to your plan. Sometimes the energy of the room dictates that you think on your feet and change things up. As long as any changes take you towards your end goal or enrich the experience, just go with it.
5. Encourage respect & avoid domination
With mutual respect and group input comes open discussion and shared goals
Remind your participants that different is just different. Whilst healthy disagreement is encouraged this must be done with a respect for differing opinions. Facilitation is all about equality so no value should be placed on rank, dominance or status. A smooth facilitator provides equal levels of attention to all, prevents domination and ensures that even the quietist voice is heard.
6. Use body language for maximum engagement
Show participants you are actively listening don’t just tell them
We all know about the power of body language so use this to reassure your participants that you are fully attentive. Nod, smile and make eye contact to increase connections and encourage input. You can also employ body language techniques to regain control and maintain the status quo of the group. Standing tall, looking directly at a person and talking directly to them with clarity is often all that is needed to dissipate high pressure situations.
7. Replay questions back to the group
You are not the teacher and the answers are not yours to give
Instead of providing a direct response, show the group that their own opinions are the most valuable by offering questions back to the room. Groups soon realise that by listening to each other and by sharing ideas and opinions they themselves hold all the answers.
8. Maintain energy levels
When energy levels drop so does engagement and output
We all know how it feels to sit in a room looking at your watch. This is suicide for fruitful facilitation. Instead you want to keep things active at all times. This doesn’t mean everyone has to be jumping around for the whole session but it does mean that you need to vary the pace, the delivery, the activities and the focus. Schedule enough breaks to keep things fresh and always read the room. If things are flagging make some changes, take a quick break, mix things up, assess what’s needed and do it.
9. Focus on learning
Let the experience be centre stage and focus on interaction and engagement
The richness of great facilitation is all about the experience. How did people feel? What did they learn about each other? What did they learn from each other? The open discussions and honest debates you enable are what will lead to long lasting change.
10. Vary your position to match the scenario
Shift the focus by moving around the space
Different elements of your meeting, discussion or event lend themselves towards you adopting a different position in the room. These can be broken into three main positions; front, amongst and behind. When instructing or directing the group as a whole the front is the obvious choice. Where group discussion or individuals require your support or guidance you will most likely opt for amongst and when you really want the group to focus on each other you’ll want to be behind. Think carefully about the focus you want to achieve and select your position for best effect.
As we said earlier, these tips are by no means exhaustive and we’d love to hear your expert advice on fruitful facilitation. As learning and development specialists this is something most of us do without thinking, so it’s nice to take a moment to reflect on what great facilitation looks like and share this with our Fruitful community.
Thanks for reading!
To learn more about how Everything DiSC can deepen understanding of self AND others, get in touch.
